Sandra Nettelbeck spins this gentle drama about how a child's presence can change the lives of the most shy and career-minded of adults. Martha (Martina Gedeck) is the chef of a popular Hamburg eatery who fusses and obsesses over each dish before it leaves the kitchen. The demands of her job and her natural shyness keep her from breaking out of her routine to meet new people. When her sister suddenly dies in a car accident, Martha adopts Lina, her eight-year-old niece. Martha's life soon completely changes -- not only must she adjust herself to new parental role, but she must help Lina deal with her grief over the loss of her mother. Martha gets unexpected help from Mario, Martha's hunky new sous chef, who is not only a whiz on the chopping block but knows sundry magic tricks and jokes to keep Lina's spirits afloat. Just as Martha starts to grow attached to the girl, Lina's erratic father shows up demanding that he take her back to Italy with him. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
Mostly Martha is mostly a formulaic movie characterized by an anonymous style and a paucity of orignal ideas. The German chef, Martha, is an uptight control freak; the Italian chef, Mario, is a charming and comparatively sensuous extrovert; the eight-year-old niece, Lina, forces Martha to get in touch with her maternal feelings; and the movie, unfortunately, seems to imply that Martha's workaholic tendencies are inherently unfeminine. On the positive side, Martina Gedeck does a fine job with her role and makes her character seem like more than just a cardboard cutout, even though the script sometimes treats her that way. Credit must be given to Gedeck and writer-director Sandra Nettelback for knowing when Martha should and should not be demonstrative, and thus knowing when it's best for Gedeck to underplay her role (e.g., an affecting scene in which Martha reacts to an important phone call at work). Unfortunately, this awareness doesn't extend to Mario, perhaps because there is little to his personality beyond his demonstrativeness; also, unfortunately, the film doesn't have enough positive traits to compensate for the conventional story. But if originality isn't your top priority and you want to see a little bit of romance, a lot of food, and some tearjerking drama, then you might find this movie satisfying. ~ Todd Kristel, All Movie Guide